In this paper, Least Square Method (LSM) and Differential Transformation Method (DTM) are used to solve the problem of laminar nanofluid flow in a semi-porous channel in the presence of transverse magnetic field. Due to existence some shortcomings in each method, a novel and efficient method named LS-DTM is introduced which omitted those defects and has an excellent agreement with numerical solution. In the present study, the effective thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluid are calculated by Maxwell–Garnetts (MG) and Brinkman models, respectively. The influence of the three dimensionless numbers: the nanofluid volume friction, Hartmann number and Reynolds number on non-dimensional velocity profile are considered. The results show that velocity boundary layer thickness decrease with increase of Reynolds number and nanoparticle volume friction and it increases as Hartmann number increases.